Rainy City Riff Raff

After learning the band we wanted to play at our wedding was unavailable, we pouted for a couple weeks, then began the search for what we thought would be our second-​best option.
Not having booked a performance-​based service before, I was clueless about the best way to do so. Google and wedding websites to the rescue. I sent emails to and/​or called nearly a dozen bands advertising themselves on the web and was surprised when just over half of them responded to my inquiries. Ken Morrison, leader of Rainy City Riff Raff, responded in a timely and super-​professional manner, and I particularly thank him for not sticking me on a book-us-and-you-won’t-be-sorry email distribution list as another one of the bands did.
We narrowed our list down to three bands. The first of the three quoted a price that was not inexpensive. The bandleader did not provide us permission to view a current performance, simply explaining their bookings were ‘private’ events. We heard the band perform several years ago and liked them, so figured they were the one to beat. The other two bands on our list gave us permission to listen to them at private events where they were performing. Interestingly, those events were scheduled on the same evening. At our first stop we were impressed with the level of the band’s musical expertise, but thought the performance might be a little low-​key for our guests. Our second stop, to hear Rainy City Riff Raff, was a gala in downtown Seattle. Walking into the hotel, we were hit with a great voice belting out, «I Will Survive,» and instantly wondered if we were in the wrong place, since we thought Rainy City Riff Raff specialized in swing tunes. We were delighted to find out we were indeed in the right place. Quite a few people were on the dance floor, and continued to stay even though the band transitioned into songs of varying eras. When the band donned sunglasses for their performance of, «I’m a Soul Man,» we were so excited to get booking information. We met Ken that evening and continued communication via email and one face-​to-​face meeting.
Rainy City Riff Raff offered us three-​hour or four-​hour performance options, and we went with the four-​hour gig. The price quote was extraordinarily reasonable, especially considering it is an eight-​piece band with horns and quite a few voices.
At our event, band members showed up on time ready to go, and appeared patient even though our schedule ran late. Once on stage they pulled the crowd to the floor, and dancing bodies remained there until their first intermission. We had some great funk/​hip hop/R&B dance tunes planned for the intermissions. When «Brick House» was playing from our MP3 player as the band was returning for their second set, they transitioned into the song with their instruments.
We received compliments all evening about the wedding reception, especially the band. What we thought was our second-​best option turned out to be the best option for what we had planned. I *highly* recommend Rainy City Riff Raff if you’re looking for an entertaining band to play classic dance tunes for your event.